Familial Bonds
by thoughtsdropin
Summary: Post-O6 rescue fic. A new person arrives on the island who has connections with more people than one, & who changes their community entirely. Strongly Juliet-based, but features all surviving Losties. Some Jate/Suliet, lots of Skate/Jacket. PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

All I could feel was the water and the pain that my lack of breathing was causing. I flipped over on my back to welcome the coughing that came with the air. Once I had caught my breath, I took the chance to look around. The only thing that was visible in the distance was a large island.

_What the hell did he do to me?_

"Hey, blondie! Hey, hey!" Sawyer shook Juliet's shoulders. She was sitting on the beach alone, staring out at the water, seemingly lost in thought.

Juliet snapped back to her senses. "James. Sorry... I was.." She struggled to find the right word. What had she been doing. "Thinking."

"Well how 'bout you think about coming over and having some dinner."

"Miles didn't cook again, did he? I don't think I've ever felt so sick in my life."

Sawyer chuckled... That had been an awful night. "Nope. Rose took over this time."

"I might actually join you then." Sawyer gave her his hand to pull herself up on.

It had been nearly two weeks since the freighter had blown up, and the only person who had returned had been Daniel from the Zodiac, who was just as confused as everyone else. The seven of them: Juliet, Sawyer, Daniel, Miles, Charlotte, Rose and Bernard, were quickly getting accustomed to living alone on the beach, although the losses from the freighter were far from forgotten.

Sawyer and Juliet walked up to the sort of eating area the survivors had established to find Rose serving Bernard, and the others already seated and eating.

"What, we miss the reservation?" Sawyer snipped at the 3 already eating.

"We were hungry, that a problem?" Miles snipped back.

"And what if it is?" Miles and Sawyer had been at odds with each other from the second they met, Juliet had always supposed it was their common interest in sarcastic comments.

"Thanks, Rose," she said as she handed her some meat.

"No problem, honey."

So the 7 of them sat down to yet another meal alone, longing for the days when the camp had been bustling with people, but cherishing the days that were peaceful and trouble-free. In fact, they were just beginning to have a fun time when Vincent ran into the middle of their circle, barking like crazy.

"What the hell do you want, Snoopy?" Sawyer snarled, as Vincent approached him. He started to run towards the water when Daniel spotted it.

"Is that... a person?"


	2. Chapter 2

"_Hi, what would you like today?"_

"_I'll... I'll have the double cheeseburger and a coffee," Jack looked at her nametag. 'Amanda' it read. She couldn't have been any older than 16._

"_Sure," she said as she scribbled it down on her notepad and walked away to hand in his order. She had an odd hobble in her walk, as though she had just learned how and wasn't quite comfortable with it yet._

_Jack stared out the window at the traffic lights. Green, yellow, red, green, yellow red. He watched the pattern for a while, and watched the cars fight for control of the lanes, as if life were one big race. The sky was cloudy like rain was coming, but Jack figured it was probably snow, as it was mid-December and none had come yet._

_A few minutes later, Amanda returned with his meal. "I hate to tell you, but we're closing in 15 minutes. I'll let you stay until I finish cleaning up though."_

"_Thanks," Jack smiled, and he dug into his cheeseburger, as the waitress began to clean up. He watched as she stumbled trying to walk to the next table, and clutched her lower back in pain. He considered things for a moment, and then spoke up. "Excuse me," she turned to him. "But if you don't mind me asking, is there something the matter with your back."_

"_Why do you ask?" She said, appearing slightly taken aback. He supposed it was odd that a complete stranger was asking her about something so personal, but he was a doctor, after all._

"_I'm a spinal surgeon, and it looks to me like you have something wrong with your lower spine."_

"_I... I don't know. I bashed my back up pretty badly about a week ago, and it's been weird ever since."_

"_Why didn't you see a doctor?"_

"_I... I'm not supposed to be talking to strangers. You should leave, we're closing."_

"_Look, maybe I can help you—"_

"_My family can't afford it, okay?! Now, please, leave!"_

"_Look, I will leave, but just take my card. I'll give you a free consultation tomorrow, let's say 2 o'clock, and if work needs to be done on your back, we can discuss financial issues later."_

_She took his card reluctantly. "Thank you," she looked down at the card, "Dr. Shephard."_

The 7 people on the beach dashed down to the water's edge towards the swimming figure, expecting to find someone who had been aboard the freighter washing up on the shore. Instead, they found an exhausted girl, a teenager from the looks of it. She was wearing a soaked v-neck sweater and jeans, and her long, curly, light brown hair was pulled back into a soaked ponytail.

She collapsed on the beach, panting, obviously from a long swim. The most the survivors could assume was that she had been on the freighter.

"What happened?" Sawyer demanded of the sorry girl, now coughing up water.

"Sorry?" She asked between coughs.

"The freighter, genius. Why'd it blow?"

"Freighter? What the heck are you talking about?"

She tried to bring herself into a sitting position, but Sawyer acted quicker and threw a right hook at her head, knocking her unconscious.

"James!" Juliet reprimanded him. "What was that for?"

"Don't you see Juliet, she's one of them, from the boat!" Sawyer cried.

"Well before you jump to conclusions, why don't you ask the people who were on the boat," Juliet snipped, gesturing to Daniel, Charlotte and Miles.

Sawyer through an expectant look at them, but they all shook their heads.

"We don't recognize her," Miles said with a raised eyebrow that mocked Sawyer.

"Liars," Sawyer muttered, and he began to drag the girl over to a tree. "Red, get me some rope."

Charlotte wasn't hesitant to obey, and she quickly ran to find some.

"She's a child, Sawyer, don't you think we should be a tad nicer to her?" Rose piped up.

"Look, we all saw the Titanic blow a couple of weeks ago, and we all lost people we loved on it," he looked Juliet straight in the eye, "and clearly this girl couldn't have come from anywhere else! I want answers, you want answers, we all want some answers, so let's get some!"

Juliet saw reason in what he was saying... She was interested in finding out what happened with the freighter. With no further resistance, Sawyer tied the girl to a tree, and the survivors waited for her to wake.

"_What did you do to your back?" _

"_Sorry"_

"_Your back... how did you hurt it? There's some pretty severe damage near the base of your spine, were you in a car crash or something?"_

"_I... I'd rather not talk about it," Amanda replied, turning her gaze to the ground, fiddling with her fingers. _

_Jack took a moment to consider what to do, then sat down on the opposite of his desk from her. "You can trust me... Doctor-patient confidentiality."_

"_I said I didn't want to talk about it!"_

"_...Sorry."_

"_So... What do I have to do for my back?"_

_Jack opened his mouth to speak when a song started playing out of nowhere._

"_Sorry... I'll be back in a second," Amanda said, pulling out a cell phone and walking to the door._

"_Allo?" She said into the phone. She began to converse in what Jack was pretty sure was French, and in a minute she was sitting back in front of him._

"_You... You aren't supposed to use cell phones in the hospital," Jack said as she sat down._

"_Oh... Sorry, it was my mum," Amanda replied as she tucked it away._

"_S'okay... Anyways, because this condition could potentially impair you for life, your insurance will cover the necessary surgical procedures. It will take 13-14 hours, and you'll be here for at least a week... Should I get in contact with your parents?"_

"_Umm... sure..." She wrote down her phone number on a sticky note. "Ask for Trevor Charleton, my dad... My mum's English isn't that good," she seemed ashamed, and Jack wondered exactly was going on between her and her mum. It was none of his business though._

"_Was that French?" He decided to inquire, talking about her phone conversation._

"_Uh... yeah." She seemed even more ashamed. "Look, I'd better go... My mum said dinner was on the way."_

"_Sure, I'll get in contact with your dad."_

"_Thank you Doctor Shephard," Amanda said, and she smiled widely, and walked out the door._

The last thing she remembered was being punched in the side of the head by the redneck man. She awoke held by ropes to what felt like a tree. After a quick check to make sure they weren't loose, she decided it wasn't worth it... She was stuck here. Out of the corner of her eye she saw red, and she groaned. Her clothes and hair were still soaking from her swim, and she was still exhausted as well. Great day, she couldn't help thinking sarcastically.

No sooner had she begun to take in her surroundings, than a woman appeared. She was tall and pretty, with curly blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Hi," the woman said softly. "I brought you some food."

"How am I supposed to eat it?" She asked with scorn.

"I'll untie you and keep watch," the woman answered. "Just please behave, okay? You can trust me... I'm not going to hurt you."

There was certain sweetness in this woman's demeanour, and her hands were gentle untying the ropes around her wrists.

The woman handed her some strange-looking meat and bread, and after a long silence while she ate, the woman spoke. "Look, I should probably be questioning you about how you came here, what you want with us, and all that, but you look like you've been through a lot, and you're just a kid... So, if there's anything you wouldn't mind sharing, that's great, but no pressure."

"Well, I'm probably better off telling you than the guy that hit me, aren't I?" she asked between bites.

The woman chuckled. "Yeah, probably."

"Look, I don't know who you people think I am, but I didn't come to this island by choice. I have no idea who you are, where I am, or how I got here. I was in the hospital, got put under anaesthetic, and when I woke up, I was in the middle of the freaking ocean. I swam to this island because it was the only land I could see... And that's the truth," she said, looking the woman directly in the eye.

"Okay," she replied, seeming a little unsatisfied. The girl had finished her food.

"So I guess I just get tied back to the tree now, eh?" The girl asked unhappily.

"Sad, but true," the woman replied. "But first, I want to clean that cut of yours," she said pointing to her head... "You got punched pretty hard."

The woman drew out some medical supplies and began cleaning her wound.

"Thanks," the girl muttered as the woman finished with her head.

The woman smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Juliet, by the way,"

The girl looked surprised for a second, and as she shook Juliet's hand, she spoke. "Juliet?"

"Uh... yes."

"You... you aren't married to an Edmund, are you?"

Juliet was stunned... How did she know that? She wanted to look into this later, but for now, was not willing to share her personal information with this stranger... Besides, the technical answer was that they weren't married, right? "No... Sorry."

"Oh," the girl said, and she looked disappointed. "I'm Amanda."

"Hi Amanda," Juliet smiled. "Well, I'm sorry, but I've got to tie you back up now."

"Right," Amanda said, and she reluctantly let Juliet re-tie her.

_It was 13 hours into Amanda's surgery, and Jack was getting tired. He had been able to repair the damage to her spine, which pleased him considering how bad it had been, and was just closing her up. He was trying to speed up the pace a bit so he could get out of the muggy exam room, when all of a sudden his hand slipped._

"_Damn it!" He almost screamed._

"_Dr. Shephard," one of the assistants called. "Are you alright?"_

"_I just... ripped her dural sack," Jack admitted to himself and the assistants. He could feel himself sweating profusely, what was going to happen to her? The dural sack's membrane was as thin as tissue, so it was insanely easy to rip, but equally important, as it was where the nerves convened at the bottom of the spine. But he couldn't let fear take control of him... He couldn't. All around him he could see assistants rushing to help him, but he held up his hand to stop them._

"_1," he began to count._

"_Dr. Shephard? What are you doing?"_

"_2."_

"_Uh... Dr. Shephard... I don't think now's the best time for a math lesson!"_

"_3."_

"_Dr. Shephard!"_

"_4."_

"_Jack, damn it, she's going to die!"_

"_5," he finished, and the fear was gone._

_He fixed her._


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Dialogue that is underlined is spoken in French**

Amanda woke up to find Juliet sitting in front of her with a man whom she was pretty sure had been the one who had knocked her out.

Seeing her waking up, Juliet shifted nervously. "Amanda, this is James. He... He's here because—"

"I'm here to talk," James interrupted her. "You obviously came from somewhere, so how 'bout you tell us where."

Amanda had suspected that her conversation with Juliet the previous night would not be the last one on the subject.

"I already told you," Amanda replied, raising her eyebrows to spite the man.

"Excuse me?" He retorted, obviously surprised that such a small girl had so much confidence.

"Well, I told her," she tilted her head towards Juliet, "last night."

"Told her what?" Sneered the man called James.

"That it wasn't my choice to come here, I was drugged."

"You were drugged?" James asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, there was something in my anaesthetic."

"And why the hell would someone want to drug a supposedly-innocent kid,"

"I'm almost 17," she retorted.

"Fine then. Why the hell would someone want to drug a supposedly-innocent almost-17-year-old and send her to this lump of dirt?"

"Search me. I thought you guys did it."

"What use would we have for you?" James asked with an obvious look of disgust.

"I don't know... You could tie me to a tree for no reason, question me like a criminal, accuse me of lying, just think of all the fun you could have!"

Amanda saw Juliet suppress giggles. Apparently not many people tried to stand up to this guy.

James had noticed the giggles too, and snarled at Juliet, before walking away muttering about needing "the Arab."

"_Amanda?! What happened to you?"__ Marie Charleton looked over as her daughter put down her backpack. She had just returned from school looking like a raccoon, with her left eye surrounded by an ugly purple bruise._

"_Nothing,"__ Amanda replied, and she tried to make her escape to her room upstairs._

"_Amanda, I ignored the time when you came home with a broken finger, and the time when you came home with a bloody nose, but this is the third time this year! What happens to you at school?"_

_Amanda stood still, staring at the red tiles of their kitchen floor. Should she tell her mother the cause of her misery? She convinced herself when Johann punched her nose that she would, but she hadn't able to muster the strength. Maybe it was time to take action before worse things started happening. Deciding that maybe she could achieve the same effect without resorting to screaming, she took the long way around._

"_Marie," she spoke, surprising her by conversing in English, and ignoring her look when she called her by her name. "Do you think we could talk in English at home now?"_

"_Why?"__ Marie answered, being stubborn and sticking to French._

"_Could you just do it?" Amanda asked, knowing that if she was prodded much further it would come out._

"_Amanda, what you are asking me, it is more than just asking me to speak a different language. It is asking me to give up my heritage. I am a French person, not an American. I agreed to move to America when I married your father, but we decided that French would be the language we would use in the house. Besides, only your father is fluent in English."_

_It was too much. Reverting back to French, her first language, Amanda let the words she had been longing to speak flow from her. __"But that's exactly it, Marie! I'm not fluent in English, but I go to a school where that's what we have to speak. I get made fun of endlessly for my bad grammar, for having to go to my French teacher to ask her to translate something."_

"_And these bullies hurt you because you are different?"_

"_No... they hurt me because... Well, you know what happens when I get angry,"__ Amanda replied sheepishly, referring to her angry retorts, heavy use of sarcasm, and quick temper._

"_Amanda,"__ Marie gave her a reproving look._

"_Marie, I can't stand it anymore, I need more English practice!"_

"_If you could just learn to control your temper Amanda—"_

"_My temper is part of me!"_

"_So is my language!"_

"_Marie, please—"_

"_I asked you to call me mum!"_

"_You're not my mother," Amanda ended in English, and she gave Marie a cold look and left the room._

"Very nice job," Juliet said to her once James was out of earshot. "Nobody ever really tries to fight against Sawyer, but you did well."

Amanda chuckled. "I thought his name was James."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "They're interchangeable."

They both giggled. Amanda had known this woman for only a day, but she knew that if it were not for their unfortunate circumstances, they would have been friends.

"I can let you out for some breakfast if you want," Juliet offered.

"That would be nice," Amanda replied, with a pointed look at the ropes that were numbing her hands and arms.

"I'm sorry about this," Juliet said while untying her. "We have some trust issues, and if you weren't who you said you were, we'd be in trouble."

"But you believe me?"

Juliet stopped fiddling with the knots and looked Amanda in the eye. "I can tell when people are lying," she simply stated, and returned to the ropes. "Plus," she added behind her back, "I kind of like you."

Amanda smiled. "I kind of like you too."

Amanda ate her breakfast under the surveillance of Juliet when a question came to her.

"So, why are you guys on the island?"

"We're survivors of a plane crash," Juliet replied, emitting the part about her not being one.

"A plane crash?" Wait – not Oceanic 815?"

"The very same."

"I thought you guys were all dead?"

"No... not all of us," Juliet replied, and Amanda was sure she caught a hint of regret in her eyes.

"I... I knew someone on your plane." Amanda wasn't sure what had made her say it, but she just felt the need to confide in this woman.

"Really?"

"Yeah... my doctor," Juliet looked up, interested. "He saved my life almost a year ago... I had this back problem."

Juliet was sure that her face betrayed the tension she was feeling. "What... was his name?" She asked, bracing herself for what she was sure would be the answer.

"Shephard. Dr. Jack Shephard. He was a great guy, he performed the surgery for next-to-no money. God rest his soul."

Amanda saw a tear appear at the side of Juliet's eye, and she proceeded to tell her about the freighter that had come and taken some of the survivors, including her doctor, but had blown up before it could rescue everyone.

The tears were rolling freely down Juliet's cheek, to her obvious displeasure.

"You loved him." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Sorry?"

"Dr. Shephard, Jack... You loved him didn't you?"

Juliet hesitated. Why was she confiding so much in this strange girl? She nodded, trying to wipe away her tears. She shouldn't be showing so much weakness in front of a stranger.

"I'm sorry," Amanda said, looking her straight in the eye with sympathy on her face.

"Thanks," Juliet muttered, but then she abruptly got up and started to tie Amanda back up, while saying "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said so much... I ... I have to go."

Amanda stared as she walked away.

The name Jack Shephard hadn't been spoken in weeks, although Juliet was sure it was being thought of constantly. She thought of him every day, of how much she missed him, of how she longed to see him again, to tell him everything she felt for him, but now that was impossible.

Tearing her mind away from Jack, Juliet thought of the strange girl she had just tied back to the tree. They seemed to have a weird connection, to understand each other. And she somehow knew about Edmund... That was going to require some investigation.


	4. Chapter 4

Amanda awoke for the third, or was it the fourth, time, tied to the same tree on this mysterious beach. It was quite a pretty place, the water was clear blue, the sky bright with perfect clouds, the sand warm beneath her feet, which were growing numb from sitting still so much. Still, although her position was not ideal, she was enjoying herself quite a bit. Sawyer was amusing, Juliet was kind, and the other 5 who lived at the beach, whose names she did not entirely know, seemed decent enough.

"Good morning," came Juliet's cheerful voice.

"Hi," Amanda responded, as Juliet came up behind her to untie her. "What's for breakfast?"

"That's for you to decide," said Juliet, who had finished untying the ropes and was now offering her her hand.

"You're letting me move again?" Amanda asked with a hint of displeasure.

Juliet chuckled. "We all decided it was a bit paranoid of us to be keeping a nearly-17-year-old that was clearly innocent tied to a tree for half a week. Just don't do anything stupid." I won't if you won't, echoed the voice in Juliet's head, as she remembered the last time she had heard those words.

"Thank you," Amanda looked her sincerely in the eye. She walked with Juliet over to a small area with a fire, some makeshift counters, and boxes of food all made by some company called 'Dharma.' "Where'd you get all the food?"

"Long story," came a voice from the fire, and Amanda looked over to see Sawyer sitting with the other 5.

"Amanda, this is Miles," Juliet gestured to a man with short black hair that merely grunted, not looking up from his food, "Charlotte," she pointed to a red-haired woman who flashed a quick smile and said hi, "Daniel," she pointed downwards to the man directly in front of them, who turned around and shook her hand, while greeting her. He seemed to stumble over the words. "Bernard," she gestured to an older man who gave her a welcoming smile and wave, "Rose," she pointed to a motherly-looking woman, "and of course you already know Sawyer," Juliet finished, glancing with a small smile towards Amanda.

"...Hi," Amanda said. "Thanks for... Not keeping me tied to the tree."

Juliet chuckled, and the two of them headed towards the food. Amanda picked out some cereal and she and Juliet went to sit alone a ways down the beach.

_Juliet lay in bed beside her husband. Their relationship was getting to be a bit rocky, she had to admit, and sometimes she thought that the only thing that kept them together was the fact that they worked together. She looked at the clock on her bedside table. 4:28 in the morning. Just as she began to fall back asleep, she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Knowing in her heart what it was, she dashed to the bathroom._

_She woke the next morning, and it took a minute before the looming task ahead of her came to mind. Seeing that the other side of the bed was already empty, Juliet began the descent to the kitchen._

"_Morning," said Edmund, not looking up from his newspaper._

"_Hey, Ed" Juliet began nervously. She had decided last night to just get it over with. "So, I didn't sleep very well last night."_

"_That's too bad," he replied indifferently._

"_I was sick, actually," Juliet said, hoping he'd get the hint._

_He didn't. Instead he looked up at her abruptly as though she was some sort of alien. "You'd better not be contagious Juliet; I've got a big presentation tonight!"_

_Frustrated that she had to spell it out for him, Juliet bluntly said. "Edmund, I'm pregnant!"_

_There was the longest minute of silence Juliet had ever felt before Edmund finally spoke. "What?"_

"_I'm pregnant... I'm almost a week late, and I was beginning to suspect something, but this confirms it."_

_Another long pause ensued before Edmund spoke again. "Get rid of it."_

"_What?!"_

"_Get rid of it. When did we ever discuss this Juliet? A baby was not part of the plan!"_

"_But, Ed—"_

"_You heard me, get rid of it Juliet!"_

"_Abortions are murder, and I refuse to have one."_

"_Then give birth to the thing and put it up for adoption, I don't care, but I am not being a father!"_

* * *

"So where are you from, Amanda?" Juliet asked.

"Well, we moved a lot, but I lived in Los Angeles most recently," Amanda replied. "I was born in Miami, though, and we lived in San Francisco for a while too."

"Really, I'm from Miami too!" Juliet said. The 2 of them smiled at each other. They had so much in common. "Got any brothers or sisters?"

"Nope, just me, and my parents... Well, not really I guess."

"What do you mean?" Juliet inquired again.

"I'm adopted," Amanda replied, with quite a lot of scorn.

"You don't sound too pleased about that."

"My parents... Well, my dad was okay, but he was never around. My mum and I just never got along. We were always fighting about something or other. They didn't tell me I was adopted until I was 13, and that was because I kind of figured it out. I've been looking for my real parents ever since. That's why I asked you whether you were married to an Edmund."

"Sorry?" Juliet asked, quite frightened about what she had a hunch she was about to hear.

"The only thing my adoptive parents knew was that my parents' names were Juliet and Edmund, and that they had adopted me in Miami, so they assumed they lived there. I don't think I'll ever find them though... There must be thousands of Juliets and Edmunds in Miami, and considering my current situation..." Amanda trailed off, slightly teary-eyed.

Juliet was horror-struck. This could not be happening. "I've got to, uh, get firewood. It's... my turn."

"Sure," Amanda said, slightly puzzled at the change of subject. "You want me to come?"

"No," said Juliet abruptly. Seeing that Amanda was taken aback, she added "I mean... you should get to know the other people around here... Not just me."

And she walked away, leaving Amanda by herself.


	5. Chapter 5

_Juliet heard a rustling in her room and awoke with a start._

"_Edmund?" She asked tentatively._

"_Yeah, it's me," replied Edmund, looking bored._

"_Oh, ok," Juliet relaxed significantly. She looked at the clock. 2:52 am. "Why were you out so late?"_

"_I had to work," Edmund replied coldly, slipping into his pyjamas. _

"_Work on what?" Juliet asked, feeling suspicion rising in her stomach._

"_Nothing you'd understand," Edmund said with a note of finality, and he lay with his back to her on the bed, as they slept._

Juliet paced up and down over and over again on the forest floor, just beyond the tree line. How could this be happening? For 16 years her nameless, faceless daughter had haunted her, and now, just when she had given up her search, she appears here, on the island? It couldn't be happening. Ben had mentioned people having visions of their loved ones on the island... Could Amanda be a vision? But everyone else saw her... And could she really be considered her loved one?

I'm going to have to tell her, thought Juliet. I can't keep this from her forever, the lie will only grow.

But what will she think of me?

There was nothing I could do about having to give her up.

Yes there was, her conscience contradicted.

Standing up to Edmund does not count! I could never have done that!

So you're blaming giving up your child on you being weak?

The battle in Juliet's head raged on until finally, she decided on what she had to do.

She _heard keys turning in the lock, and the front door being shoved open. Finally, at almost 4 in the morning, her husband was home._

"_Ed?" She called from the kitchen._

"_Jules... Why are you still up?" He asked groggily, stumbling into the kitchen._

"_This is the 4__th__ night you've come home this late... What's wrong?"_

"_I had to work."_

"_At 4 in the morning? Don't be ridiculous Edmund."_

_A long, awkward pause ensued between the two of them. Finally, Edmund spoke._

"_Listen, Juliet, I've been meaning to tell you... I've been seeing somebody."_

"_Seeing someone? Who?"_

"_Noreen," Edmund said with a visible amount of pride._

"_Noreen... From the office?" Juliet asked in shock. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. _

"_Yeah," Edmund replied._

"_Why are you telling me this?" Juliet asked, the tears now running freely down her face._

"_Because it's over Juliet. Our relationship is like stale bread... Nothing ever happens."_

"_So, what, you're saying that you wish we had sex more often, because as I recall Edmund, the last time we did it, things didn't work out so well!"_

"_Juliet, just let it go," he was starting to get annoyed now. "Just get out."_

"_Wait... You're throwing me out?" Could this night get any worse?_

"_It's my house. Be gone by noon tomorrow." Edmund said in a business-like fashion, and he strode up the stairs as if breaking up with his wife was a daily ordeal._

_Juliet collapsed on the counter. She knew that the relationship was... How had he put it? Like stale bread... It had been that way for a long time. But she had done so much to keep things together, she had given up her own child! And now, 2 years after she gives up her gorgeous baby for the sake of her marriage, her husband ends it for some hot-20-year old? It must be a nightmare. It must be._

_And she cried herself to sleep._

Juliet walked out of the forest and scoured the beach for Amanda. There she was, sitting on the beach alone. Perfect, yet not so. Juliet had been hoping to put this conversation off for a while, but the opportunity was too perfect.

"Hi Amanda," Juliet said, standing above her.

Amanda looked up. "Hey," she said, smiling.

"Mind if I sit?" Juliet asked.

"No, no, go ahead," Amanda replied, and Juliet sat beside her. She looked over at the girl she now knew to be her daughter. There was an undeniable resemblance between them. Amanda didn't have her hair, she had inherited light brown hair from somewhere, but apart from that, everything was the same. She had deep blue eyes; she was tall and healthy-looking. Juliet laughed remembering that she had seen Amanda bite her bottom lip and play with her cuffs just like she did. She seemed calm, composed, intelligent, but someone you didn't want to be on the bad side of, just like people described her. They even smiled the same way! This girl was undeniably her daughter, and Juliet was so thrilled, yet the anxiety of telling her had not disappeared at all.

"Do you mind if I ask you something, Amanda?"

"Sure," Amanda replied, turning to face Juliet.

"It's a bit weird, but... What's your middle name?" This would be the final confirmation, her last chance to get out of this.

Amanda chuckled. "It's Juliet. My adopted mum told me that that was the only thing my real mum requested, that that was to be my middle name."

Juliet's heart melted. It really was her. After all these years.

"Amanda... I..." Juliet didn't know how to phrase this kindly. "I lied to you."

Amanda looked confused. "What?"

"I... I was married. To a man named... Edmund Burke."

They both stared into each other's eyes, the eyes that they both shared, for what seemed like an eternity.

"You, you were?" Amanda asked in an unnaturally high-pitched voice.

Juliet nodded, her eyes closed, waiting for the explosion.

"But did you... Am I... Mum?" Amanda stuttered, struggling for words.

As nervous as she was, Juliet couldn't help but break out into a huge smile, and let out a giggle while she was at it.

Amanda looked shocked, but soon her expression mimicked Juliet's, and the two laughing, smiling women were wrapped in each other's arms.

Finally they had found what they were looking for.


	6. Chapter 6

"_Look, I don't know why, but it needs us to go back!"_

"_It needs us? The island isn't a person, Jack, it doesn't have feelings," Kate replied coldly._

"_Yeah, you're kinda starting to sound like Locke, dude," Hurley added._

"_Look, I know what it sounds like, but Ben says—"_

"_You want to trust Ben?"_

"_Last time I checked, you were the one working for him Sayid," Sun replied with a small smirk._

_They were all in bad moods. Nobody's lives had gone back to what they wanted them to be: Hurley was back at Santa Rosa; Sayid had lost Nadia and now worked for Ben; Sun, mourning the loss of Jin, had taken over her father's corporation, and was suffering the repercussions of doing so; Kate and Aaron were constantly haunted with visions of Claire and other members of their past; and Jack... Jack was haunted by his past as well. Sometimes he'd wake up, having seen them again. The bright blue eyes that haunted him in his dreams. He knew exactly whose they were, and he knew exactly what they meant. He had to go back._

Juliet was pretty sure that the worst part of living on the beach was the burnt oatmeal they ate for breakfast. She hated burnt oatmeal. She stared in disgust down into her bowl, took a deep breath, and dug in. Just as she began to raise the second spoonful into her mouth, someone sat down beside her.

"Good morning," Juliet said to Amanda cheerfully. Amanda gave her a weak smile, but Juliet knew immediately that something was wrong.

"Why did you leave me?" Amanda said, and Juliet's stomach turned upside down. Here it was, the moment she had feared.

"Amanda, I-"

"The first 13 years of my life were a lie. I lived with 2 people that I thought I knew, I thought I understood, and then finally, the day after I turn 13, my 'mother,'" she said the title with a certain amount of disdain, "tells me that it's not real. Why?"

Juliet could see the pools of tears in Amanda's eyes, and knew they were present in hers too. "Listen," she began firmly, "what you have to understand is that I did not choose to leave you. My husband, your father, he... Getting pregnant was a mistake. Or at least he thought it was. I left you for my marriage."

"Where is he now? My dad?" Juliet couldn't tell what Amanda felt about her explanation yet, she was just as good at hiding her emotions as she was, but she hoped she would come to understand.

"He died. Almost 4 years ago. We were divorced before then."

"So you left me to save your marriage, and then the marriage falls apart?" Amanda's lips curved into a slight smirk, but she seemed to be gradually siding with Juliet.

Juliet nodded, as the tears began to run down her cheeks. "It wasn't my choice... Nothing ever was with your father."

"I'm sorry," Amanda looked at her sympathetically.

"Were... Your parents alright? I didn't even know their names."

"Marie and Trevor Charleton... Trevor was great, really nice, but he was never around. Marie... Well, let's just say we didn't get along."

"What happened?" Juliet looked concerned and apologetic.

"She was from France originally... She me Trevor when he went on some exchange there. So, obviously, her mother tongue was French, and Trevor was pretty good himself. I was brought up speaking French, but went to school in English. My English is better now, but it used to be awful. I'd get teased, and well, if you're anything like me, you'll know what type of temper I have." Amanda smiled a bit, and Juliet chuckled. She could only guess. "I got a ton of black-eyes, bloody noses, even broke my finger once. But not matter how much I begged, Marie would never speak to me in English. She said to ask her to do that was to ask her to change her culture or something. So I saved up some money and paid for my own English lessons, but our relationship remained... Rocky."

"I'm so, so sorry Amanda," Juliet pulled her into a tight hug, and Amanda felt so whole, having a mother that cared about her.

"Thank you so much... Mum."

Juliet smiled. "I like hearing that."

"I like saying it... As soon as I found out, I stopped calling Marie and Trevor mum and dad."

Four days passed, and Amanda and Juliet grew closer every day. They would spend hours just talking. Talking about their past lives, about what they missed in the past 16 years of each other's lives. The rest of the beach found out about their relationship, and came to fully accept Amanda as part of their community.

"Just hook this loop around that stick," Juliet directed. She was helping Amanda build herself a tent, as she had been sleeping by the fire for the past week. "There you go. Now you finally have a place to sleep. Want me to help you set up the inside?"

But Amanda didn't answer. She wasn't even looking at Juliet, she was looking off into the distance. "Is that a boat?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh my god... James!"

"Dan!"

"Rose!"

"Bernard!"

"Charlotte!"

"Miles!"

"Somebody!"

Time seemed to freeze as the boat pulled ashore. Amanda lurked in the safety of her tent, Juliet seemed frozen by shock. The others joined them on the beach, and nobody quite knew what to say. What do to. Should they do anything?

And as a familiar Iraqi pulled the boat ashore, eyes widened to their fullest extent.

Sayid.

Sun.

Hurley.

Aaron.

Kate.

Jack.

They were back.

Arms were wrapped around waists, tears were flowing, laughter and smiles filled the air. But Juliet couldn't move a muscle. She knew that Sun waited expectantly by her side with her new baby. Her baby, the baby whose live Juliet had helped save. She knew that Sawyer and Kate were meters away sharing a love-filled reunion, that Kate was probably thanking Sawyer right now for saving their lives. She knew that for even the slightest hope to reside in her heart was foolish, and for that, she strode forward.

Slap.

Juliet knew that all eyes were on her, but her eyes only had time for one man. The man who now stood in front of her, beard and all, staring at her knowing what was to come.

"A couple of hours?! Jack, how..." She lowered her volume, hoping to create less commotion, "how could you possibly believe that everything was going to work out. That we were all going to be sitting on the freighter drinking by midnight? I thought you were dead!"

"Juliet, I—"

Before Jack had time to respond, Juliet's arms were tight around his neck, her tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Don't ever do that again."

"Juliet... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to... I never meant to... Please forgive me."

Juliet lifted her head from his shoulder, and nodded weakly.

They pulled out of their embrace, and for a long time just stared at each other. Jack watched as Juliet turned to talk to Sun and Ji Yeon. There were so many things that he did off the island that he was ashamed of; things that he knew Juliet would frown upon. He didn't deserve her forgiveness, and he knew it.

* * *

Jack walked glumly up the beach to where his tent used to be. He'd seen in surprise earlier that all the tents were still up, so at least he had a place to stay. As he dragged the few possessions that he had brought with him back to his old tent, he spotted a familiar head of brown hair swishing by.

"Amanda?"

The girl turned swiftly on the spot and shot him a friendly smile. "Hi Dr. Shephard."

"Why... How... What are you doing here?"

Amanda chuckled a bit to herself. "It's a long story, which I'm sure you'll hear from everyone else, so I won't waste your time now."

Jack joined in the chuckling. "Fair enough... So... How's your back?"

"It's fine, thank you," Amanda responded quickly. She turned her head to look behind her.

"Are you looking for someone?" Jack asked.

"Yeah... My mum actually... Juliet," she added after seeing his confused expression.

"Juliet... Wait, Juliet Burke is your mother?" Jack couldn't understand... Why had Juliet never mentioned this? I mean, he knew that Juliet knew a heck of a lot more about him than he did about her, but surely the fact she had a child would have been dropped in conversation?

"The very same," Amanda replied.

Seeing her expectant look, Jack added. "I haven't seen her since we got back... sorry."

"Okay, thanks Dr. Shephard. It's nice to see you... Alive... and all."

Jack chuckled again. "Nice to see you too Amanda. Alive and all."

* * *

About 10 minutes later, Jack was in the midst of unpacking his small suitcase. Knowing that he would be returning to the island, he thought that bringing some essentials might be nice. As much food as the Dharma initiative had, they never really had a large supply of toothbrushes, so he had packed lots of those along with other toiletries and medicinal basics. He reached down into his bag, knowing that he had packed at least 7 toothbrushes, and his wrist caught on a zipper.

"Damn it," Jack muttered as his wrist began to gush blood. He flipped through his toiletry bag for some antiseptic. "Of course," he said to himself. "You go to all the trouble of packing a bag of medicine, and you forget the basic disinfectant." Fumbling his way over to his old medicine stash, blood flowing rapidly from his wrist, only staunched by his finger, he realized that it was gone. "Sawyer," Jack cursed, and he made his way out of the tent, clenching his bleeding wrist.

No sooner had he exited the tent, when he bumped into Juliet.

"Jack!" Juliet almost screamed, having seen his wrist faster than he could say 'sorry.' "What happened?"

"It's okay, I just cut it on a zipper," Jack said rapidly, trying to calm her down.

She immediately did.

"Listen, have you seen Sawyer?" Jack continued angrily, "I think he stole my medicine stash."

Juliet's face glowed bright red. "Oh, actually, it's in my tent. You know, with you gone and all, I was the... Stand-in doctor I guess."

"Oh... Right."

"Do you want some disinfectant?" "Could I have some disinfectant?" They spoke at the same time, both turning the same shade of pink after.

"Yeah, that would be great... Thanks," Jack replied smiling, and he followed her to her tent.

* * *

"So, I met your daughter," Jack started awkwardly, trying to spark some conversation between the two of them, as they entered Juliet's tent. They had been so comfortable with each other before he left, but it was like starting from square one now, like they had never met before.

"Oh... Amanda. You know her, right?" Juliet replied, her back turned to Jack as she extricated the suitcase.

"Yeah," Jack said over her shoulder. "She's a great kid. Now that it's been brought up, she looks a lot like you actually. Acts a bit like you too."

She giggled, and Jack smiled broadly. It was nice to see her happy, if only for a brief moment. "She does, does she?"

After a long pause, Jack attempted to get the answers he wanted. "You never mentioned... Having a daughter. I mean, I knew you were married for a while, but I thought it didn't work out."

Juliet sighed. It obviously was not a topic she was interested in discussing. "I didn't... Raise her. Me... Edmund, my husband, well he..."

Jack saw how hard it was for her to discuss, and moved forward to put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You don't have to explain... Marriage can be difficult, and I speak from personal experience here."

Juliet giggled again, her eyes fixed on Jack's hand. "Yeah, it can be..."

Jack smiled, and slowly removed his hand from her shoulder. For what seemed like an eternity they just stood there, staring into each other's eyes. Even after all the time apart, there was still a connection between them. One that couldn't be broken by Ben, Kate, or any amount of time apart.

"Here are the meds," Juliet said finally, handing them to Jack.

"Thanks," Jack replied smiling. He slowly began to exit the tent when Juliet called after him.

"Jack?"

"Yeah," he said hopefully, turning around.

"You're here to... Rescue us, right?"

Jack was drawn briskly back to planet Earth. Of course, he hadn't explained yet.

"I'll explain at dinner to everyone, okay?" He said carefully.

"Sure," Juliet replied, puzzled.

And as she watched him exit the tent, she knew that something was not right.

* * *

Dinner was an awkward affair that nobody wanted to suffer through. Conversation was kept light and infrequent, and nobody really talked to specific people, rather just asked general questions to the whole group to avoid awkward answers. Amanda had it worst... Watching all these people who were obviously so happy once upon a time act so unfamiliar with each other was not an experience she wanted to endure again.

"So..." Began Rose, trying to break the ice. "What's it like living back home?"

It was an unavoidable topic, that nobody really wanted to discuss, rather that had to be discussed.

"It's... complicated," Sayid started, but he finished before he got into a mess.

"Yeah, things are kinda awkward, I mean keeping secrets and all," Hurley continued, taking the plunge. "And it wasn't like we were all in it together, I mean Sayid was off doing secret mission stuff, and Sun went back to... Where she came from, and, I mean, I guess Kate and Jack got to tough it out together, living together, and getting married and all, but-"

Hurley broke off. All eyes had abruptly flown to him, and it was obvious that he had said the wrong thing. After a brief 'oops' moment, everyone's gaze went to Sawyer and Juliet, who were sitting side-by-side across from Hurley.

"I've gotta... Collect firewood... And fish... And stuff," Sawyer attempted.

"I'll help you," Juliet added eagerly, and the two of them fled the scene.

"But it's dark out!" Miles called after them, clueless.

"Dude, that's totally beside the point."


	8. Chapter 8

"Well, that was... awkward," Sawyer muttered in contempt as he and Juliet made their way down the beach.

"It's not as if we didn't expect it, James," Juliet muttered back, staring at the ground.

Sure they had expected it, they had speculated about what would happen between them, but to have it become a reality... That was a whole new can of worms. Just having the thought in her mind of Jack and Kate living together, of Jack proposing to Kate, of her accepting, of them living happily ever after... It was too much to wrap their heads around.

"So, what do we do now?" Sawyer asked finally, after a thoughtful pause.

Juliet shrugged, "pretend we don't care, like we always have, I suppose."

Sawyer snorted. "Ain't we gracious."

Juliet's mind flickered back to one of the last times she had seen Jack, when she had just finished saving his life, only to throw him into Kate's hands. It flickered to Sawyer's retelling of when he had jumped from the helicopter for Kate's sake... Yes, they certainly had been gracious, and for what? It was the first time she had been frustrated, angry with Jack, and she knew that Sawyer must feel the same way.

She twiddled her thumbs between her fingers. "Yeah, gracious."

* * *

"Hey."

"Hey," Juliet said, looking up to find Amanda standing in her tent doorway. "We haven't talked in a while," she remarked, stuffing some shirts into the corner.

"That's why I came to see you... That and the fact that I know you must feel pretty awful right about now," Amanda said, throwing her a sympathetic look.

"It's a complicated story," Juliet replied solemnly, gesturing to a spot for Amanda to sit. "But all you need to know is that it was nothing James and I weren't expecting."

"Oh, I weaseled some details out of Rose, I know all about your love square-type-thing," Amanda said with a grin. Juliet loved how she could take any situation and calm everyone down, make everyone feel better.

"Love square... huh... Guess I've never really thought about it that way."

"I can't wait to get off this island! A nice, hot, bubble bath would be amazing right about now," Amanda remarked, trying to change the subject.

"You should talk!" Juliet joked in return. "I've been here for over 3 years! You haven't even been here for 3 weeks!"

Amanda laughed. "Yeah, I guess you win there."

The two of them shared a giggle, and just when they were about to continue their conversation, a knock was heard on the pole of Juliet's tent.

"Come in," Juliet called out, puzzled.

The tarp was pulled back to reveal Jack, crouching to get in through the small entrance hole. "Oh-" he remarked, noticing Amanda. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.

"It's okay, I was going to get firewood anyways," Amanda said quickly, and exited the tent. Juliet and Jack stared about her, and Jack turned to Juliet, raising his eyebrow.

"Is this some code I should know about? You all seem to... Like gathering firewood in the pitch black," he teased, raising his eyebrow even further. Juliet was quite sure that Jack knew exactly what Amanda was up to.

Before Juliet had time to answer, Jack continued. "Well, anyways... I came here with dinner.... We used to eat together a lot, and I thought maybe, you know, if you wanted to, we could... Do it again?"

"Uh, sure, that would be nice," Juliet responded politely.

Jack produced two already-prepared plates of boar meat from just outside the tent, and the two of them sat down on Juliet's makeshift bed.

Juliet laughed upon seeing her plate. "Jack? Why are there sticks stuck in my boar meat?"

Jack chuckled as he turned bright red. "They're toothpicks, silly. A meal isn't a meal without toothpicks."

Juliet smiled. She loved how much of an effort he was making to make her feel comfortable: he must have seen how awkward it was for her and Sawyer at dinner the previous night. "That is very correct... Without a toothpick, the food just isn't... Whole!"

They tucked into their dinners, and Juliet couldn't help but remember how close they had been before. There would be so many times when they would just sit and talk: no pretence, just the need of someone to talk to, and the wish for it to be each other. Oh, how she wished things could be more like that now.

"I'm sorry about last night," Jack said all-of-a-sudden. "I didn't mean for you to find out like that," he said, staring into Juliet's eyes.

"It's fine Jack," Juliet said as serenely as possible, "you're entitled to your own choice."

"No, Juliet, you don't understand. It's not just Kate, I... I did things off the island... Things that I shouldn't have done. Things that I know you would frown upon."

Jack looked troubled, and Juliet couldn't help but rest her hand on his knee, to just try to tell him that she didn't hold him responsible for anything. "Whatever you did, I'm sure you had your reasons."

"I left you behind," Jack blurted out. "I had no reason to do that."

"You're a good person, Jack. And I know that... It doesn't matter what happened. I forgive you."

"You do?" The surprised look on Jack's face broke Juliet's heart. She knew how it must have felt to Jack, Jack who had been working so hard to save everyone, but had only saved 6.

"Of course I do," Juliet smiled.

Jack smiled widely, and wrapped his arms around Juliet's waist, pulling her closer. Juliet's arms wrapped themselves around Jack's neck, and tears came flooding out of Jack.

And for what seemed like eternity, yet not close to long enough, they just sat there, wrapped in each other's arms, Juliet rubbing Jack's back soothingly.

"Juliet?" Jack asked into her neck.

"Yes?"

"Will you come with me to the Barracks tomorrow?"

"The Barracks... Why?"

There was a long pause, and Jack pulled out of their embrace. After a long sigh, he managed to say "I have to go see Ben."

"Ben? Why?"

He knew he had to... He recalled the entire story of their off-island lives, how Locke had warned him not to leave, and how Ben had told them that they needed to all return together. Juliet just sat there, listening, barely any expression on her face.

"So, I need to go see him to find out why we had to come back here."

Juliet felt disappointed... She had thought that Jack and the others were back to rescue the people they had left behind, but from Jack's story, they seemed to have been perfectly content back home were it not for Ben and Locke's warnings. In fact, the prospect of returning home had not been mentioned once by Jack.

"Why do you want me to come?" Juliet asked, a bit coldly.

"I... Don't want to go alone, and figured maybe we could use the time to... Catch up?" Jack asked slowly, having seen that something had changed with Juliet.

Juliet thought for a moment. She might as well use the time to get some answers herself. "Sure, I'll come with you."

Jack grinned. "Thank you."


	9. Chapter 9

"Good morning" Juliet said as she entered the kitchen area.

"Morning, sunshine," Sawyer said from across the counter. "You seem awfully happy... You and the doc didn't have too much fun in that tent of yours last night, did you?" He asked with a smirk.

"James!" Juliet yelled reprovingly, as her face turned bright red. "Is a girl not allowed to be happy once in a while?"

"Lay off, Sawyer," Amanda said with force as she came over from the campfire.

"Ohhh Sawyer you'd better watch out for her!" Kate yelled with a smile from the campfire. Sawyer was preparing 2 bowls of oatmeal, and from all Juliet could tell, the two of them were getting along fairly well.

"Hey," Amanda said with a smile, as she came to stand beside Juliet.

"Hey yourself," Juliet returned.

Amanda leaned in closer to Juliet and whispered "so how much fun did you and Jack have last night."

"Amanda! Nothing happened, I promise. In fact, if you must know, I'm rather suspicious of him right now.... I think he's hiding something," she said just loud enough for Amanda to hear.

"Hiding what?" Amanda asked curiously, but before Juliet could answer, another voice came from near the tents.

"Morning everyone," came Jack's voice, as he walked over from his tent. "Hey," he said just to Juliet and Amanda.

"Hi Jack," Amanda said cheerfully. Juliet merely smiled.

"Will you two do me a favour and turn around for a minute?" He asked, and the two girls obeyed.

Jack chuckled. "I can't believe I didn't notice the resemblance before... You two are like twins with different hair colours!"

Amanda smiled and, noticing that Jack's eyes had been lingering on Juliet's for quite some time now, took her breakfast over to the fire to eat, leaving them alone.

Jack took a few steps forward. "So, you ready to leave in about an hour?"

"Yeah, I'll get some water and guns."

"Don't worry about the water, I've got it. A gun would be nice though... I know you've got one, but carrying one around Los Angeles isn't exactly something I was willing to do." He said with a chuckle.

Juliet smiled. She loved how much of an effort Jack was making to make them friends again. "I'm sure we can find you one."

Jack gave Juliet a wink, and went over to the counter. "Oh, burnt oatmeal... That's definitely not something I'm glad to get back to."

Juliet laughed, and the two of them went to sit next to Amanda around the campfire. Kate and Sawyer sat on the other side, chatting away, sitting rather close together.

"So, I figure if we leave in an hour or so, we should be back tomorrow around the same time," Jack said to Juliet.

"Where are you guys going?" Amanda asked, startled.

"We're going to see a man who may be able to help us get off the island," Jack replied. "He came back to the island with us, but went to the other side immediately, as it's where he used to live."

"Can I come?" Amanda asked enthusiastically. "Sitting around is not one of my favourite past-times."

"No." Juliet said fiercely. "It's much too dangerous, Amanda."

"Mum, I can handle it!"

"You're only 16 Amanda!"

"17... I'll be 17 soon."

"It doesn't matter, you're much too young! And plus, you can't even handle a gun."

"Who said that?" Amanda retorted with a smirk. And before anyone could reply, she grabbed the gun from Juliet's pants, and rapidly shot down a can from a shelf in the kitchen area.

"Well, well, well," Sawyer remarked, awakened from his conversation with Kate. "Looks like Hermione's got some hidden talent there."

"Please let me come, Mum," Amanda pleaded. "I won't get in the way, I promise."

"Juliet, I don't mind her coming," Jack added.

Juliet shot him a reproving look, but turned back to Amanda with a decision. "Fine... You can come... But if Jack or I ask you to do something, you've got to do it, okay? No questions asked."

"Deal," Amanda said firmly, with a smile.

Juliet turned to Jack, who was smiling widely at her. "What?"

Jack laughed. "You make a good mother."

Juliet blushed, but kept her gaze on Jack's eyes. "Thanks," she said softly. No matter how much suspicion she had surrounding his plans, she couldn't stop herself from reacting to him so strongly. There was just something about him, something that made her world seem like heaven every time he looked at her.

Jack placed his hand over Juliet's hand, and gave it a squeeze. "I'll go find myself a gun, and then we'll leave, okay?" Looking at Amanda, he chuckled. "I'll find one for her too."

"Thanks Jack," said Juliet, and she couldn't help but stare at their hands, perfectly entwined on her knee. Jack left, as did his hand, but Juliet could still feel exactly where it had been, and she relished in the warmth it brought her. How could she still have feelings for him? He had obviously chosen Kate... Or had he? He had been pretty warm with her these past few days... But was that just to make up for the fact that he had left her behind? Men, thought Juliet with scorn... They always have to be so damn confusing!

* * *

About a half an hour later, Amanda, Jack and Juliet were all equipped with guns and water bottles, and the rest of the camp was present to bid them farewell.

"I suppose you remember the way?" Sayid asked as they were about to leave.

"I could never forget it," Juliet replied with a tone of regret.

"Good luck, dudes!"

"Get us off this damn island!" Sawyer called as they left.

Juliet smiled. She was hoping to accomplish just this... But was that what Jack wanted?


	10. Chapter 10

The day was nice enough. Sunny, but not too hot. In fact, a nice breeze swept across Juliet's face as she followed Jack, with Amanda following close behind her. They had left the beach about 45 minutes ago, and she was getting tired already, her curiosity building as well. Why exactly did Ben want the others back here, and why was it so important to Jack that he found out?

"So where exactly are we going?" Amanda asked suddenly from behind her. Juliet had wondered why Amanda hadn't been asking questions earlier.

Juliet exchanged a brief look with Jack, but decided that hiding the truth from Amanda was only going to be detrimental to their relationship. "We're going to a little village... Where I used to live before the plane crashed."

Amanda looked stunned.... Maybe Juliet had said too much. "You weren't on Oceanic 815?"

Jack, sensing that this conversation could be more important than not, decided to speak up. "Why don't we rest for a while? We're all tired, and some water would do us good."

The three of them sat down on some rocks just off the path they were following. Jack passed out water bottles, and Amanda stared intently at Juliet. "You still haven't answered my question," she said with a knowing grin... Juliet wasn't going to get out of this one.

Juliet took a deep breath. "No, I wasn't." She hoped that she could get off with such a brief answer, but if Amanda was anything like her, then she knew that she wouldn't.

Sure, enough, Amanda raised her eyebrow and asked "so, you lived here before the plane crashed?"

Juliet nodded. "Yes. For 3 years before."

Amanda looked suddenly concerned. She stared down at her knees, wringing her fingers together and shaking her head slightly.

"Amanda, are you okay?" Juliet asked, glancing back at Jack to see if he knew anything.

Amanda looked up abruptly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

There was a long pause... What had just happened with Amanda? Why did everyone have to be so damn secretive?

Juliet stared down at her knees, wringing her fingers much like she had just seen Amanda doing.

"Juliet," Jack said softly, all-of-a-sudden.

Juliet looked up. Jack, like her and Amanda, looked very concerned.

"I hope you're not mad at me," he said shyly with a soft smile. "I really didn't mean to leave you behind, or to cause you any of the hurt that I did when I was still here."

Juliet stared into his deep eyes, interested. "Why are you telling me this now?" She asked kindly.

"Things have been so... different between us lately. I just thought it would be nice if we could clear things up and get back to the way they used to be," he finished with a pleading smile.

Juliet looked back at Amanda, who was smiling at the ground, obviously pretending not to be paying attention. "I'd like that too," she answered with a smile, garnering one from Jack as well.

"I missed you you know," Jack continued, more confidently this time. "I couldn't stand the thought of you still being here on the island, especially with Sawyer," he said raising his eyebrow.

"He's not my type," Juliet said, answering his unspoken question.

"Glad to hear it," Jack answered with an even larger smile.

Jack and Juliet looked to find Amanda shaking her head, making sounds with her tongue. "It don't take a word, not a single word, go on and kiss the girl," she sang all-of-a-sudden.

Jack and Juliet's eyes widened, as Amanda giggled and stood up from her rock. "I'll be waiting over there," she pointed with her head, and headed off happily singing "sha la la la la my oh my, looks like the boy's too shy, not gonna kiss the girl."

Juliet turned to Jack, blushing bright red. "Sorry about that."

Jack chuckled, placing his left hand gently on Juliet's cheek, rubbing her temple softly. "I've always thought parents should listen to their children."

"Their children?" Juliet asked coyly, as Jack moved towards her slowly, his eyes fixed on her lips.

Jack merely grinned, and their lips met. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, their lips met. Juliet closed her eyes, oh how she had missed him. How she had missed the feel of his hand on her face, rubbing it gently. The soft touch of his lips moving against hers, the feel of his short hair underneath her fingers, the safety that she felt as he wrapped his free hand around her waist, the pure bliss and lack of thoughts that she endured as he kissed her, the soft groan that Jack made as their kiss deepened.

After what felt like nothing compared to the time they had spent apart, Jack broke the kiss, still rubbing Juliet's face softly with his left hand. He gave her one last quick peck on the mouth, and placed his forehead against hers, never wanting to relinquish their touch.

"I love you Juliet," he said, staring into her beautiful blue eyes.

"I love you too, Jack," she replied, as happy butterflies filled her stomach, and emotion overwhelmed her to the point where she wasn't sure she could stand.

Their lips met again, their tongues colliding, and Jack pulled Juliet as close as he could without hurting her. It was what Juliet had thought was never destined to be, but yet Jack had just proclaimed his love for her. Their lips finally broke apart, and they both knew that it was time to go. They untwined their bodies from each other's, and Jack stood, offering his hand to Juliet, who took it, and together they walked out of the clearing to find Amanda.

Amanda was seated on another rock, just a few metres away from the clearing, staring out into the distant parts of the island. As she heard Jack and Juliet approaching, she stood, examining their body language, and soon coming to a conclusion.

"Good job," she approved, winking at the two of them. "My mother, my saviour, who'd have thunk it?"

Jack and Juliet smiled, and Jack softly kissed the top of Juliet's head before the three of them set off together again for the Barracks

* * *

It was a long few hours before they finally reached their destination, but a very happy few hours. The three of them laughed, and Amanda got to witness just how much Jack and Juliet were in love with each other.

As they finally reach the barracks though, there was more serious business to be dealt with.

"Amanda, I need you to promise me something," Juliet said, worried.

"Yeah, sure, anything."

"The man we're going to see, Ben... He's a bad man. Promise me that you won't listen to a word he says."

Amanda was a bit puzzled, but didn't want to cause any trouble. "Sure, whatever you say," she replied, and the three of them walked into the center of the little village and towards Ben's house.

All-of-a-sudden, Amanda saw someone that she recognized.

"Grand-dad?"


End file.
